Solwhit suffers setback

Solwhit could be forced to miss next week’s Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle after scoping dirty on Monday morning.

The six-year-old has won three of his four starts this season and cemented his place towards the head of the ante-post betting for the Cheltenham feature after winning the Irish equivalent at Leopardstown in January.

Trainer Charles Byrnes said: “Things are very much in the balance with Solwhit as he has scoped dirty and we’ve put him on antibiotics.

“The plan had been for him to travel over to England on Saturday morning but that will have to be put on hold now.

“We’ll have to scope him again later in the week and see how it’s looking.

“It’s obviously very disappointing as he has never given any indication anything was wrong, apart from one cough.

“We’re just going to see how he reacts to the antibiotics and make a late decision.”

Meanwhile, the news Cheltenham have already taken the decision to start watering was not met with much glee at Noel Meade's Tu Va Stables.

Meade houses current Champion Hurdle favourite Go Native, who is also chasing the WBX.COM £1m bonus after having won the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdle this season.

Go Native landed the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the meeting last term on good to soft ground, and Meade hopes clerk of the course Simon Claisse is not too liberal with the water.

Meade said: “I’m sure a lot of trainers of soft-ground horses will welcome the news, but then there are those like us that don’t really want it.

“But he handled it last year in the Supreme when it was good to soft and it had rained on the Monday night.

“The danger is if they get it wrong and over-water or it rains heavily overnight, you just never know.

“The ground at Kempton was against him – it was tacky – and that’s what he doesn’t want.

“He’s in fine form at the moment anyway and we are just counting down the days.”